The World Outside
by Robert90
Summary: This is the finished 1st chapter of my story. I accidently uploaded the chapter unfinished, and I apologise for that. "Jonathan has lived in the vault all his life. But a sudden change forces him to make a decision. Leave the vault? Or stay? Easy choice..
1. Chapter 1

**Alright bear with me through this chapter. It's extremely difficult to write the escape from the vault. I tried to make it different from the game, but the escape part is hard to do different without changing the whole story. But the second chapter is going to be longer and more different, I hope.**

**Now I've changed some stuff about the world though, but just small things like the fact that I've added seasons. And I've added some new weapons and other stuff. Please REVIEW after reading!  
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**Chapter I**

**His destiny unfolded**

Today's job had been hard, the door to the cafeteria had been on the frits again and it was Jonathan's job to fix it. As a vault technician his job was to repair everything that broke down in the vault, and it happened a lot because the 100 year old stuff wasn't exactly stable. As much as he liked his job, now he started to regret that he didn't take the G.O.A.T seriously.

He slid open the door to his home and kicked off his boots. They landed on the floor right in the middle of the room with a loud thump.

"Pick up those boots." He heard from the bedroom.

He sighed and put the boots neatly next to the door as ordered, the tool belt was unclipped and fell down at the same spot with a metallic clatter.

"When did you get home?" Jonathan asked his father.

Who was busy with something in the bedroom, with what Jonathan didn't know. Much less cared.

"I didn't have any patients booked in for the rest of the day. Besides if there is an emergency

Jonas will page me. It's not a long walk." James, his father and the vault doctor, said.

"One of the many positive things of living in a hole in the ground." Jonathan pointed out sarcastically, and sighed.

Jonathan remembered something, this was the first time his father had taken the day of. He practically lived in the clinic otherwise. At least from when Jonathan was old enough to take care of himself.

Jonathan threw himself down in the sofa, and his father joined him in one of the armchairs.

He looked at his son. Jonathan was a big man, unlike his father, and a lot of hours down in the vault gym had shaped a muscular body. But just like his father he had short black hair, and deep blue eyes. James wondered where he had got his length and build from, probably from his grandfather. Sometimes those things could skip a generation.

He could see that his son was troubled, a father never missed those signs. He saw it in his eyes.

"Is everything alright Johnny?"

"Nothing I won't survive. Just had a hard day." Johnny quickly answered.

They looked each other for a couple of seconds. James once black hair was filled with gray streaks and his face full of wrinkles. His beard seemed to get grayer quicker than his hair.

"I know what it's about." James suddenly said, smiling.

Johnny raised an eyebrow and smiled back.

"Oh do you now, old man." He teased.

"I was once your age you know. I know that look."

There was a short pause.

"It's girl trouble? Isn't it? Everything fine with Susie?"

Jonathan was a handsome man, and that had gotten him the prettiest girl in the vault. They had been together for two years. But her father, Allen didn't like him, for some reason unknown. Her brothers Wally and Steve had even threatened him to back off or they would beat him so badly his father wouldn't recognize him. Although he knew that Wally wasn't serious, being a tunnel snake he got threats from him all day long as did all others who opposed them, but it was Steve he worried about. He was a sadistic son-of-a-bitch who hated Jonathan over everything else, and he was a security guard. That meant he had access to weapons. But as long as Jonathan stayed out of his way he would be fine, he hoped.

"It's not Susie. You know how the Mack's are."

His father looked at him seriously and said with the most serious tone he could.

"Have Wally been giving you a hard time?"

Johnny raised his head.

"I can handle Wally, no problem. It's…" He hesitated but decided to continue his sentence. "It's Steve I worry about."

There was a couple of seconds of silence. Jonathan worried he had said too much, that his father would confront Steve about it. But that was just empty worries, his father knew better than that. He had always been an understanding person.

"But don't worry about it, I'll handle it." Johnny assured his father.

Nevertheless James looked worried. His eyes showed it even if his face didn't.

"If you think you can handle it I won't intervene." He said, and Johnny trusted him, even if he was worried out of his mind.

James turned on the radio on his Pip-Boy to break the silence and the jazz started to spread across the home. It brought a kind of warmness with it, it made the steel walls seem a little less like a bunker.

"Well, I'm off to the gym." Johnny said and stood up to put on his boots.

"I thought you had a hard day?" His father remarked.

Johnny just laughed and slid the door open. He was about to exit the room when he heard his father's voice behind him again.

"If your mother would have seen you now, she would have been so proud of you. I'm proud of you, and I love you."

What had brought this on? Johnny thought.

"Love you too." Johnny wasn't a man who said those words often. It happened on special occasions like birthdays and such. Sometimes not even then.

On his walk down to the gym, he encountered Butch and his tunnel snakes, with Paul Hannon Jr. and worst of all, Wally Mack.

He didn't make eye contact with either of them, at least he tried not to. But they were eying him like he had four arms, especially Wally.

"Well well, look who it is." Butch eventually said and blocked his path.

Jonathan just gave Butch a stare.

"Butch, I'm not looking for trouble. Why don't you just crawl back into the hole you came from?" John said calmly.

He realized that insulting him probably wasn't the best way to stay out of trouble. Wally looked really pissed, as usual. And Butch had held a grudge against him ever since Johnny gave him a fat lip when he was ten.

"I say we teach this guy a lesson!" Wally suggested, although it was more of an order than a suggestion.

Right after those words his fist was on a rendezvous with Johnny's face. He quickly stepped to the side and followed through with a hard uppercut to his chin. Wally fell down like a sack of potatoes. Before Paul and Butch knew what happened, Johnny was gone. He heard the cursing and screaming behind, and laughed for himself. But somehow he just knew that this would get back to him, maybe in the form of a certain security guard.

Johnny arrived at the gym, and changed into a white tank top, sneakers and track pants. He ran on the treadmill for half an hour and pumped the weights for 40 minutes. Johnny liked to work out, It kept him in shape. There wasn't much else to do other than reading. And frankly Johnny wasn't much for reading. When he was done he hit the showers.

He was standing under the shower, feeling the hot water against his body, when he heard someone enter the room. He thought it was someone going to take a shower, he wasn't prepared for what was about to happen. The shower curtain was pulled to the side and Susie, naked from head to toe was just standing there.

"You have room for one more?" She said with a sensual voice while stepping under the hot water.

They had done it before, but this time he was stunned, it had never happened like this. He got his mind in one place.

"This is the male showers, what if someone comes in here?" He asked her and put his hands around Susie's naked waist.

"That just makes it more exciting." Susie countered.

"I love you." Johnny said and kissed her passionately.

After the shower they got dressed and were walking back to their rooms hand in hand like they had just met. Right now they didn't care about Steve or Wally. Those problems were put aside, for a couple of hours at least. When Johnny came home his father sat on the couch reading a book. He looked up from the pages and looked at Johnny, who was smiling and seemed happier than before.

"I take it the problems are settled?" He asked.

"Nope." Johnny answered.

"They probably got a lot worse. But I don't care." He said happily.

His father sighed and put down the book on the table. He looked disappointed and at the same time proud.

"What did you do?"

"I eh… I think Wally will have a sore chin for a couple of days." Johnny laughed and sat down in the armchair.

James sighed again.

"John that's no laughing matter, if you keep fighting with them the overseer's going to have you put in jail."

"Hey! I'm not the one starting it! I'm just defending myself!" Johnny countered.

"That won't matter to the overseer. You…" But he stopped there.

"Just be careful, son. Promise me that."

Johnny just nodded his head and stood up.

"I'm going to bed, there's nothing else to do."

"Good night son." James said and returned to his book.

When Johnny sat down on his bed, trying to slink out of his jumpsuit, which was pretty tight on the shoulders, he saw his old BB gun on the desk. Memories flashed into his mind when he held it. He remembered when his father got it for him. It was his 10th birthday, they were down in the lower levels, where Jonas and his father had set up some targets. His father gave him the BB gun as his birthday present. He had spent a lot of hours down there, honing his aim until it was flawless. These days he didn't use it, he had grown out of it. As he lay down in the bed his mind started to wander, and it ended up on Susie, he didn't want it to end. What they had was amazing. Although it probably would end, eventually. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

Jonathan awoke at the sound of a female voice.

"Jonathan! Jonathan wake up!"

At first he thought he was dreaming, so he just pulled the cover higher up. Trying to drown the voices out. But the female voice kept shouting.

"You got to wake up!" The female voice sounded persistent, almost angry and a little chaotic.

Jonathan opened his eyes, and through the mist you awake in every morning he thought he saw his friend Amata.

"Ah, let me sleep." He said and turned around.

Then the covers were torn away. And a sudden cold struck his almost naked body.

"Hey! I need that!" He complained.

"Good, I hoped you had at least a little bit of clothes on."

Johnny realized he was just in his boxers. He couldn't resist joking with her about it.

"You sure you didn't wish I was naked?" He chuckled.

"Oh god! Can't you be serious for one second?!" She sounded angry as well as panicked.

"My father's men are looking for you!" She continued as she was packing what supplies she could find in a big leather satchel. A clean t-shirt and a clean tank top, a stimpack from the medical cabinet on the wall, as well as adhesive bandages, a roll of bandages, tape and dressing. She also packed some vault emergency food cubes and two bottles of water.

"They've already killed Jonas! You've got to get out of here! Right now!" She franticly said.

Those words struck like a dagger in the hearth of Johnny. Jonas had been a good friend, almost like an uncle. And his death was like losing a part of himself, but he managed to get a few words out.

"They killed Jonas?! What the hell is going on?!"

Amata turned to Johnny, putting the satchel down on the floor in front of him.

"It's your dad." She said calmly. "He's left the vault, and my father thinks Jonas helped him escape! Now they are scouring the vault looking for you!"

The sadness she tried to bury found its way to her eyes.

"He had his men…"

Johnny grabbed Amata's arms and held her. He managed to get the last part of the sentence out of her before she burst out in tears.

"They just beat him, and beat him! They wouldn't stop, they… killed him." She franticly said. Tears were running down her cheeks.

Johnny hugged her and told her everything was going to be okay.

"You have to stay strong Amata, calm down." He said with a calm voice.

He wanted to say that everything was going to be okay. But the truth was that it wouldn't. Johnny wished it was a dream, then he could just go back to sleep and Jonas would be okay. He would go and see his father in the clinic and then pop up late for work. As usual, but it wasn't a dream. It was the cold hard reality. Amata finally calmed down, and Johnny wiped the tears of her cheeks. It was hard for him to grasp it all. His head was in chaos. But he managed to get a tank top and his jumpsuit on, as well as his boots.

"We've got to go now, Johnny! Trust me, we don't want to be here when my father's men show up." She said trying to rush Johnny even more.

"Where to?" He asked, even though he knew the answer. But it felt better to hear it from someone else, for some reason.

"I fear you have to follow him, to the wasteland. You can't stay here." Amata answered the unnecessary question.

"Didn't your father tell you he was leaving?"

Jonathan thought about it for a second, now it made sense. Yesterday, why he was so nice and forgiving, and why he came home early. He was trying to spend one last afternoon with his son.

"I truly had no idea…" Johnny said.

He felt betrayed, left behind. Why would his father just leave him? He knew that he had to find him, that much was certain. He needed answers, nothing could stop him now!

"Really? You sure? He doesn't seem like the kind of man who would just leave his own son. Maybe Jonas was supposed to tell you everything?" Amata pointed out.

"It doesn't matter now. I have a plan. I know how you can get out." She continued.

Johnny listened as carefully as he could, this plan could save his life after all.

"Listen. There's a secret tunnel that leads directly from my father's office to the exit. But you'll have to hack his computer to get it open."

"Don't worry about the computer, the Pip-Boy will handle that." Johnny said and pointed to the computer on his wrist.

"It can do that?" Amata asked looking at her own Pip-Boy.

"I kind of modified mine, with the help of Stanley. It can get the computer unlocked. And the door won't be any problem, I work with the bloody things daily. Are you sure the tunnel isn't guarded?"

Amata snapped back to her original plan.

"I'm sure about it. Nobody knows about it except for my father, and me of course. Trust me."

There was no question about it. The tunnel was his best bet if he wanted to get out alive.

"Oh, and before I forget. I found this in my father's room. I have no idea where he got it." Amata said as she handed Johnny an old pistol. Johnny gripped the handle, and he recognized the model. He owned a book about guns, which he had read about 20 times over. This model was a Walther P99, an old pistol from the 1990s that chambered 15 9mm rounds per magazine. Where did the overseer get this? Johnny pressed the release for the magazine and it popped out. It was fully loaded, his lucky day.

"Wow, this will come in handy." He said but Amata was on her way out, shouting as she ran.

"I'll try to meet you at the exit!"

Johnny put the pistol between his jumpsuit and the belt, and ran out into the corridor. Instantly a guard spotted him.

"Hey you, stop right there!" He screamed with the police baton in his right hand.

John didn't want to shoot him, so he did the only thing he thought of. He rushed as fast as he could towards the guard. Blocking the guards swinging baton with his right arm, he grabbed the shoulder straps of his flak vest and with all his strength he swung him around into the nearby wall, knocking him unconscious. Then John's mind slowed down to a normal speed and he heard the sirens and saw the red blinking lights. That meant radroaches, they were a common problem in the vault. But easy enough to kill. And suddenly three of them appeared around the corner. John drew his pistol and fired a round, one of the roaches exploded spewing green blood and guts. He fired two rounds again against the other two, one of them missed, but the other one hit one roach in the side, blowing his legs of and making it unable to move. As the last one got nearer he kicked it as hard as he could, it flew across the corridor and splattered against a wall. The wounded one also got a taste of his boot.

He headed for the diner when he was stopped by Butch. The last person he wanted to meet now. His eyes showed fear. With the pistol in his right hand he screamed to Butch.

"I don't have time for your fucking bullshit right now! Get out of my way!"

Butch seemed really scared of him now, which made John feel good inside.

"It's not that! It's my mom, she's trapped in there with the radroaches. You've got to help!"

John was stunned, Butch asking him for help. Hell just froze over it seems.

"Why do you need my help all of a sudden? Afraid of a few radroaches or what?" John asked.

Butch hesitated but then gave John the all familiar look that he knew so well, and answered with an angrier tone than before.

"Alright so I'm afraid of those bugs. So what?! Just please help me!"

John had already decided what to do. Ellen DeLoria wasn't going to pay for her son's mistake. It wasn't right.

"Alright I'll help you." John said.

"But I'm doing this for your mother, not for you."

Butch almost hugged him when he heard John.

"Oh thank you!"

And he ran off into his apartment with John after him.

"Where is she?" He asked Butch.

Butch pointed on the door to the other room. John tried to open the door, but it was jammed. But from his experience with these doors he quickly figured out how to open it. Then almost jumped into the room and squished one of the giant roaches, he made short work of the other ones with a heavy lamp. He helped Ellen on her feet. But he didn't even get a thank you or anything from her.

"Thank you so much! Here…" He said and took off his leather jacket.

"I want you to have this as thanks."

John didn't want anything from that asshole. But forced the jacket into his satchel, maybe he could sell it or something. If he got out of this alive that is.

John ran past the diner and up the stairs which led to the Atrium. He smelled something that reminded him of rotting fried meat. He saw Andy, the robot, grilling some radroaches with his flamethrower. He saw Stanley right behind him.

"Don't worry Johnny I won't say anything. I don't care what you have done just get out of here." Stanley assured him.

Then Johnny heard an all too familiar voice.

"You're lucky it was me who found you! The others won't be so forgiving."

It was Officer Gomez, he had always been nice to Johnny. It was him who turned a blind eye towards him when he gave Butch a fat lip. He had even protected Johnny from Steve a couple of times.

"Tell me about it. There is one of you down there unconscious." Johnny said and pointed to the stairs.

"Alright I'll take care of that. Now you get out of here! Before anyone else see you."

"And John! Be careful."

John continued towards the overseer's office, when he reached the Atrium. He ran past the Mack's room. He didn't see Susie inside, so he didn't bother to stop. Her father were banging on the window and cursing though. He ignored it and continued to the systems room. The first thing he noticed was Floyd Lewis lying dead on the floor, he paid his respects and bent down to pick up his aviator sunglasses and a wrench. He put them both in his satchel. He heard footsteps behind him, but reacted too late. It was security chief Hannon, he used his baton to try and strangle John. He stepped back, smashing Hannon into a metal beam. But he didn't let go. He tried to pry his arm of, but in a grip like this it would require massive strength. John was running out of air and had to do something soon. He grabbed Hannon's arm and with his remaining strength he heaved him over himself. He crashed down to the floor head first, a loud crack was heard. And Hannon was dead, his neck broken. John fell down on all four, coughing and trying to catch his breath. He only let himself rest for a couple of seconds, any longer and more of them might catch up. His legs protested as he ran towards his objective. He reached the security room, and heard voices coming from inside. Crouching down under the window he carefully peaked inside. What he saw was Amata sitting in a chair, and the overseer and Steve standing in front of her, they seemed so be interrogating her. Amata's cheek was red and bruised.

"Tell me where your friend have gone Amata, don't make officer Mack here hurt you." The overseer said to his own daughter.

"I'm telling you! I don't know where he went! Why are you doing this?!" Amata screamed, tears running down her eyes.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this Amata." The overseer said and nodded to Steve.

Steve raised his hand to hit her with the baton. Then something exploded inside John, all his rage and hate he had against Steve was released. He grabbed the gun from his belt and burst into the room.

"Hit her and I'll put a bullet between your eyes!" John screamed, holding the gun in one hand.

Steve looked at him and Johnny gave him a look that would make the devil tremble in fear.

"You! You're dead!" He screamed, but didn't even flinch when he saw the pistol.

"Amata, come here." John said to her while pointing the gun towards Steve and the overseer.

Amata ran up to John's side, her eyes were red from the crying. Suddenly when she made a move towards the exit, Steve moved as well. Thinking that it would divert Johnny's attention, it didn't. That was Officer Mack's last mistake, he came about half a meter when John pulled the trigger. The bullet came flying out of the barrel at 400m/s, lodging itself in Steve's skull. He was dead before he even hit the ground. The overseer backed away, slowly. John pointed the pistol at him, and forced him down the chair. He put the mouth of the pistol against his forehead. The overseer was terrified, almost shaking in his seat. Then John bent down and whispered closely in his ear.

"Don't come after us…"

The overseer didn't move one inch from the chair and John rushed after Amata.

What he saw outside the office made his flood freeze in his veins. The body of his former friend Jonas laying in a pool of his own blood. The once white lab coat was red with blood, only some spots of white had escaped the blood. His face was bloody and beaten in. The gruesome sight made Johnny look away, but not before he spotted a holotape in one of his pockets. He didn't have time to listen to it right now, so it went into his satchel with his supplies.

"Thank you for not killing my father. He's not himself!"

He seriously doubted that was true, but didn't say anything. Instead he put a hand on her shoulder.

"You know that's not my style. Are you going to be okay?" He asked calmly.

"I'll be fine, I just need to think. You go on ahead. I'll catch up with you."

John tried the door to the office, it was locked. So he removed the panel underneath the electronic lock and located the wires he wanted. He didn't have time to fuse them together to bypass the lock. Instead he just yanked them out. It was fine as long as you didn't want to close the door again anytime soon. There was a spark of electricity and the door slid open. Once inside the office he first checked a locker. He found two extra magazines for the Walther, they went into his jumpsuit pocket. A bottle of Rad-X went into the satchel. Now for the Pip-Boy to work on the computer, he yanked the cable from the Pip-Boy and connected it to the computer.

"Now let's see if this works" John said to himself.

The Pip-Boy blinked for a couple of seconds. Then started to go through every possible password, about 30 seconds later the Pip-Boy let out a sound. And a lot of files appeared on the computer screen. He downloaded them all to his Pip-Boy. He found something called Open Tunnel. So naturally he selected it. Then the floor started to hum, and shift. John almost jumped at the sound. He unplugged the cable and headed down the stairs and through the dark passage. The two radroaches he encountered on the way got a taste of lead. He ended up in a dead end, at least that was what it look like. But he instantly flicked a small switch and the wall hummed and disappeared down into the floor. He entered a stale chamber, everything seemed sterile and dark. It reminded him of a crypt form an old monster flick or something. After he searched some crates he found a wire cutter and two screwdrivers. The vault door was shaped like a huge cog and could be opened or closed on a nearby console.

The console was easily navigated and the door came to life, it screeched across the metal floor and compressed air spewed out from the sides. It slid to a halt at the side. Then Amata popped up behind him, which made John jump. He had been so fascinated by the display that he didn't hear her, or she was really sneaky.

"I can't believe you actually opened it. It's…amazing." She said, as stunned by it as John was.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without your help."

She smiled.

"No you didn't need me. If anyone can survive out there it's you." She said.

That felt comforting at least.

"So, I guess this is goodbye." She pointed out.

"Why don't you come with me?"

Amata seemed like she wanted nothing else in the world. But at the same time she seemed afraid of it. And that was understandable. John was also afraid of it, he didn't know what he would find outside.

"It's tempting, believe me. But this is my home, and I won't let my father chase me out."

John started thinking. Had Amata been strengthen by this day? Maybe she wasn't that brittle girl she used to be anymore.

"Alright, goodbye Amata. I hope we see each other again."

"Yes, take care of yourself out there. Bye"

Then they stared at each other, and ended up in a long hug. He knew he probably wouldn't see Amata ever again.

John smiled and left the vault…

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**Now the second chapter is coming soon, I'm currently hooked on the DEATHLANDS series Graphic Novels, so not much writing going on. But I'm working on it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Told you this chapter was going to be longer than the first one. Maybe not by much but 2000 words at least. This chapter was easier to write than the first one. This chapter was written with the help of the wondeful music of Hans Zimmer and alos The 69 Eyes. I hop you enjoy it. And please review it after reading! I accept critisism, so just comment on it. Enjoy, the next chapter will be more action and less walking around in a town, I hope.  
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Chapter II**

**A trace of his passing**

As John stepped out into the blinding sunlight for the first time his eyes burned, he couldn't see anything as they adjusted to the bright light. Remembering the aviators, he fumbled in the satchel for them. He found them in the side pocket and slipped them on. Now everything was more than just shapes. The sign right in front of him said: Scenic Overlook, but what he saw from the overlook was rubbles of stone, empty husks that had once been a town not far away and a ruined city in the distance. But what caught his attention was some kind of metal structure or something, not far away. He opened the files he got from the overseer's computer in his Pip-Boy. From that he was able to find out a couple of things, the tower was probably a town called Megaton, which meant people. And apparently they used old pre-war currency but also bottle caps at some places. But the most important things he found out from the files, which he should have realized when he first read about the outside world, was that the last overseer had actually sent out a scouting party to gather this information. That meant the vault had been opened before, the overseer had lied to everyone about the outside. He closed the file and looked towards the metal structure again, plotting his course in his mind. It looked as he had to go through the ruined town.

The sun was scorching and he was sweating. He couldn't take of his jumpsuit, so tied the top part around his waist. Then he started fumbling is his satchel, and gripped something cold. The bottles of water, which he was glad Amata had packed considering that clean water was a rarity out here. He took a mouth full of cold liquid, and let it run down his throat.

The vault dweller then headed off to the metal structure, walking carefully down the rocky slope. He didn't want to start of his journey by breaking his legs. The boots they had in the vault was sturdy boots, but they didn't work well on rough surfaces. They had a tendency to be slippery. He had to try and get some other boots, that was a priority.

As he entered the small desolate ruined town, the sign said Springvale, he heard music, and somebody talking. It sounded like a radio, he stopped and listened. Suddenly a big sphere of metal came hovering around the corner of a ruined house. John didn't know what it was so he dived for cover, which was the husk of an old car. With the pistol in his hand he waited, waiting for the sphere to show itself and maybe open fire on him. But it didn't. Very gently he peeked his head above the hood, it didn't even see him, just kept hovering down the rubble that was once a street. John stood up, brushing the dust off his jumpsuit and tank top, hoping that nobody saw his little display.

Down the street was a rusty metal sign with painted words on it, it said Megaton and pointed up the hill. Right by the sign was a big red metal rocket. It looked like an old petrol station from before the Great War. It was nothing to gain now from it, so no further inspection was given.

The vault dweller continued towards the town of Megaton, hoping to find some trace of his father. Or at least where had gone.

When he reached Megaton he was greeted by a robot, he presented himself as Deputy Weld. The name made John smile, it reminded him of old holovids of cowboys he had seen in the vault. The robot continued on with his ranting and the huge metal doors slowly slid open, he heard the sound of a jet engine. Which was probably powering the doors, he wondered how they had got it to work.

The wind picked up as he was moving towards the entrance, John stopped and felt the wind cool him down just a little bit. Although the wind was fairly hot and not cold it still felt refreshing. Inside Megaton he was greeted again, this time by a black man in a brown leather duster and cowboy hat. John was about to burst out in laughter when he noticed the assault rifle that hanged from his shoulder, and thought it best to shut up.

"Howdy wastelander. It's good to see a new face around here…"

"Wait a minute… you're from that vault, aren't you! My god I haven't seen one of those jumpsuits in a long time." The cowboys face changed from a natural look to a big smile when he said that.

So now it was confirmed, John thought. The vault had been opened before. And people had been on the outside. He wondered if anyone was still here.

"Is anyone of those that came before me still here?" He asked hoping for the best.

"Not anymore I'm afraid. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Long story. I'm Jonathan Davis by the way, call me John." He said and stretched out his hand.

The cowboy and shook it. His grip was hard and sturdy.

"Lucas Simms, do you need any help finding something? Simms asked.

John looked around.

"What do you have here?" He eventually asked.

"Well, that depends on what you're after. If you're looking to trade, check out Craterside Supplies. Guess where it's located." Simms laughed.

John didn't, it wasn't a funny joke. But out of courtesy he smiled. Simms continued his verbal tour of the town.

"And if you're looking for a bar Moriarty's is the place, it's up at the top on the far side. If you're hungry try The Brass Lantern, down at the bottom. That's pretty much it, you'll figure the rest out." Simms said and patted John on the shoulder as he walked past him.

He hadn't noticed the huge nuclear bomb, which was lodged in the ground in the center of the massive crater till now. He had the urge to ask Simms about it, but didn't. On the way up to Moriarty's Saloon he passed Craterside Supply, and decided that he would stop by later. Maybe he could pick up some supplies, and maybe get a pair of boots. And definitely sell Butch's leather jacket.

When he entered the saloon he felt like everybody was eyeing him, when in fact nobody paid any attention to the newcomer. He took a seat on a barstool next to a radio, nothing was heard on it except interference along with one or two words. Then he heard a raspy voice and looked up.

"Hey smoothskin, can I get you anything?"

What he saw made him flinch. A man half decomposed, his skin leathery and brown and green in some places. Where his nose once had been was only a hole. And he could see his jaw muscles move as he spoke.

"Fuck! What are you?!" John said a little too loud for his own good.

The bartender sighed.

"Haven't you ever seen a ghoul before?" The bartender asked.

"No, I haven't. What's a ghoul?"

"Well not all of us had the chance to hold up in a nice cushy vault when the bombs fell. A bunch of us got stuck out here in the world, and got a full on blast of heat and radiation. It turned us into a pack of walking corpses. Near as I can tell, we age slower than you. A lot slower. There are even a few ghouls that were alive during the war. Of course with a face like ground brahmin meat you can imagine that folks don't take to kindly to us." The ghoul explained.

John looked at his face and tried to come up with something nice to say.

"You know, it's not so bad." Realizing how dumb that sounded he looked away, tried to avoid eye contact.

"Nice of you to say so. If you can't be nice, at least pretend, right? Fake it 'till you make it and all that. Still though, a fake compliment is a lot better than the usual spit in the face that I get. You're not half bad… for a smoothskin." He chuckled.

"I'm Gob by the way." He reached out his hand for a handshake.

John looked at it, pieces of leathery skin was flaking of. It didn't look too appealing, but he decided to make the effort. Maybe he could make a new friend.

"Jonathan, call me John." And he took his hand.

He regretted he had done that, it wasn't a pleasant experience. But at least it stayed attached to his arm. He wiped his hand on his leg when the ghoul wasn't looking.

"Here, it's on the house. Don't tell Moriarty though, he'll have my head." Gob said and slid over a shot of whiskey.

John eyed the drink and took a sip. The liquid burned his throat but gave him new energy. He remembered when his father had shared a bottle of whiskey with him back in the vault. That was one of his best memories, one he didn't want to let go. He finished the drink and remembered he didn't have any money. Not one dollar or cap.

"Hey Gob?" He got the ghouls attention.

"Yeah?" He said as he wiped a glass clean with a rag that looked dirtier than the glass itself.

"Do you know anyone who would pay to get some work done? I'm kind of short on cash."

Gob seemed to think for a moment.

"Well, Walter up at the Water Processing Plant was in here complaining about something. Something with the pipes I think. If I were you I would ask him. He's an old guy with a big beard, usually dressed in a light blue jumpsuit."

"Thanks Gob."

John had just finished his whiskey when a neatly clad man in the corner waved at him. He had been trying to get his attention for a couple of minutes, apparently. There was something about him, something that the white suit didn't show, something more sinister than looks could find out. When he got closer to him he got colder, that was never a good thing, and it wasn't just the silenced pistol what gave him that feeling. Reluctantly John slid down the armchair next to him.

"My my, just when I had all but given up hope, I'm very happy to make your acquaintance. I am Mr. Burke. And you, well, you are not a resident of this putrescent cesspool. That makes you a rather valuable individual." The stranger said.

"It does?" John asked, deciding to play it cool.

The stranger laughed.

"Sure! Don't you see? You have no ties here. You're a mercenary, if you could call it that. Megaton means nothing to you."

Any idiot could put two and two together, this man had something planned for Megaton, something bad. John thought.

"I represent certain… interests who view this town, this 'Megaton', as a blight on a burgeoning urban landscape…"

John interrupted him, he didn't care about what this man would do if he got angry anymore.

"Just get to the point, will you." John crossed his arms and leaned back in the armchair. Mr. Burke smiled.

"So impatient. Very well. No doubt you have noticed the undetonated atomic bomb in the center of town. With this fusion pulse charge, you can spring the bomb back to life. So to speak, and detonate it from a safe distance of course."

John almost jumped out of the chair. He couldn't believe his ears. Was this man mad? Why would he otherwise want to destroy a whole town? What was his motivation? Nevertheless the conversation was over.

"I'm leaving. You're sick." He said and walked away.

"Walk out of that door and I will make your life very difficult!"

John didn't care, he wasn't going to destroy an entire town. It didn't matter how much money he got from it. He would rather live in poverty than living with a guilty conscience.

Putting Mr. Burke out of his mind he headed towards the Water Processing Plant. Hopefully he could earn a few bucks there. After he had money he would rent a room and spend the night. Tomorrow was the time to ask about his father, as much as he liked this town, he couldn't linger for too long.

Outside the Processing Plant he saw an old guy who matched Gob's description, blue jumpsuit and beard. He was leaning against the railing. Got to be the guy. He thought.

"You Walter?" He asked.

The old man turned towards John and looked at him.

"Yeah I'm Walter. You're new here aren't you?"

"Yeah I just got here. I'm John."

Walter shook his hand and smiled.

"A pleasure to meet you. So, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I'm kind of short on cash and I heard you had some problems with the pipes in the plant." He got interrupted by Walter.

"Well it's not the pipes up in the plant, it's around town somewhere."

"What you think you can fix them?"

"I was a vault technician back in 101, I mostly did electronics but I think I can handle it."

Walter thought for a second, eyeing John as if to see if he was for real.

"If you think you can do it, sure. Fix 'em and I'll pay you 200 bucks, that's a lot of money but I really need the help. I have to be up here and manage the plant, plus I'm too old to run all over town looking for broken pipes. My old bones can't take it."

"You have a deal." John said.

"Excellent! Follow me and I'll get you some tools." Walter said and headed into the plant.

The plant was cluttered with scrap metal, tools and other junk. A lot of the pipes was rusty and patched up with tape in some places, which remarkably seemed to hold without leaking. Machines hummed and cleaned the water pumped from the ground as best as they could, but water from the ground was greatly radiated and it didn't take all of it away, but it still was very drinkable and much better than water from the wasteland.

"How many leaks are there?"

John said and picked up a huge pipe wrench, some pipe tape and a couple of makeshift pipe repair kits. Those consisted of a rubber band, which you put over the hole, and two metal bands around it that you tightened it over the hole with.

"Judging from the pressure drop, I'll say at least 2, maybe 3."

"Alright I'll get to work then. Can I leave my satchel here?" He said as he put it down next to a machine.

"What? Oh sure…" Walter said and mumbled some words which John didn't hear.

It didn't take long before he found the first leak, on a roof next to Craterside Supplies. He climbed over the railing and stepped out on the roof. It buckled under his weight, which told that house building wasn't Megatons area of expertise.

The pipe was leaking in a connection, easy enough to fix, he just tightened the connection and the water stopped leaking. The second leak was a bit trickier, water was spraying out through a hole opened up by rust. But he managed to get it fixed with one of the makeshift repair kits, he didn't want to screw it too tightly though. The pipe was so rusty it would probably crack if he did. It had to be replaced soon. He taped around it for extra support. Walter was right, there was a third leak. John found it near the entrance. It was the same procedure here, makeshift kit and tape. Although this pipe wasn't as rusty as the last one, it still needed to be replaced soon. Or chances were the whole thing would burst. Soaked to the skin he returned to the plant and was greeted by an overjoyed Walter, and 200 dollars.

"I noticed the pressure rising in the plant! You repaired them all?"

"All three. Two of the pipes are pretty bad though." He said as he returned the tools and pocketed the cash.

"Yeah I know, but we don't have the resources to replace it."

John felt bad for the old man, he was tending to the whole plant all alone, managing the plant while trying to fix all the pipes that burst all over town at the same time.

"I'm sorry, but I have to find my father and…" He was interrupted.

"Yes of course, I can't force all my problems on you. But I'm thankful nevertheless."

"Well, I got to go. Take it easy old man." John said and took his things and left.

John made a promise to himself. When he found his father, he would help Walter with the pipes. He felt he had to. Megatons life hanged in the hands of Walter, and if Walter perished, Megaton would follow.

He was really tired by now, his legs ached from all the walking and he could really use some food. He took Simms advice and went to The Brass Lantern. John had been running around all day, escaping the vault, the walk to megaton, fixing the pipes, he had been busy almost all day. But now it was time to slow down, and take it easy. He wasn't used to the sun, and got dehydrated quickly. John had been drinking one and a half bottle of water today. He had to limit his drinking if he wanted to survive.

A neon sign was lit outside The Brass Lantern, powered by a small emergency fusion powered generator. The generator powered other things as well, lights and refrigerators for example.

There was a serving outside the bar as well as inside. Outside behind the counter a girl was chopping some kind of meat, John didn't want to know which kind. He sat down in one of the barstools.

"What's on the menu?" He asked the girl.

She gave John a quick glance and continued to chop the meat.

"Iguana-on-a-stick, Brahmin steak, Mole Rat, that's what we have right now anyway."

Brahmin steak sounded the most appealing, since they actually looked like pre-war cows. But he wanted to save money. So he ordered the least appealing, hoping that he at least could chew it quickly and swallow.

"I'll take the Iguana."

The girl fetched a dead iguana and stuck a spit through it, then threw it at the grill.

"Five bucks." She said, and went back to chopping the meat.

John fished up a five dollar bill from his pocket and handed it over. The girl didn't say much, either she was busy chopping the meat or she just wasn't very chatty. John couldn't say, but while he waited for his food he tried to start a conversation.

"I'm new here, just came in from vault 101." He said, realizing it wasn't the best opener.

"I know."

"News travel fast."

"It's a small town."

Just as John had expected, short answers. She was hard to get through. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and had become greasy and grubby of the fumes from the serving. She had deep blue eyes and a pretty face, easy on the eyes.

"I'm John." He said and tried to get eye contact.

She had her eyes down the meat and the cleaver, like she was trying to avoid eye contact.

"Jennie." She finally said, like she was deciding if she should reveal her name or not.

John got his Iguana-on-a-stick and took it with him.

"Well, bye."

She didn't answer, just nodded. There was something about her, something which intrigued John. Something had happened to her, she looked emotionally scarred.

While walking to the saloon he took a bite of the Iguana, expecting the worst. But it turned out it wasn't all that bad, the meat was almost rubbery like and hard to chew. But if you could get past that, it was fine. The saloon looked to be in the same state he had left it in. It looked as it was filled with the same people, doing exactly the same thing. Except now, Mr. Burke was gone, good riddance. The radio was still playing static and Gob still cleaned glasses and tried to stay out of everyone's way.

John walked up to the counter, and looked Gob in the eyes to get his attention.

"Hey John, did you find Walter?"

"I sure did, now the town is going to have fresher water again."

The ghoul was stunned, maybe he didn't expect a stranger to help Walter. But he managed to get some words out.

"Wow…that's…really wow. I never…"

John laughed.

"You never thought a vault dweller would help? I feel bad for Walter though."

"Yeah he's got it hard, and it doesn't help that the plant is falling to pieces."

"Hey do you have any rooms or anything?" John asked.

Gob pointed towards a red haired girl dressed in a sort of jacket and a mini skirt, with legs you could die for.

"Talk to Nova she'll set you up."

John looked at her and then threw a smile at Gob.

Nova inspected him when he approached, and he knew for what reason.

"What do you need good looking?" She said.

"Well, probably not what you expect." John smiled.

"Ooh, kinky. I'm in."

John laughed, even though she was serious about it.

"That's not what I meant, sorry. How much for a room?"

She almost looked disappointed. And maybe she was.

"50 bucks, pay 150 and I'll join you."

John produced a 50 dollar bill from his pocket and handed it over, hinting what he wanted.

"If that's what you want, handsome." Nova pocketed the cash and handed over a rusty key.

"Just go up the stairs and it's the door straight ahead. The one with the big bed." Nova hinted.

John smiled and looked her in the eyes. Maybe it was more to her than the eyes could see, not just some shallow young woman with a cute smile and long legs.

When he unlocked the door and locked it from the inside he felt as the troubles was behind him. He knew that they weren't, his father was still missing, and the vault was still banishing him. But the room threw up a fake screen against it. He dropped his bag in the middle of the room and slipped out of his jumpsuit. The tank top, which had been white and dry at the start of the day, was drenched in sweat and colored white, grey and brown in some places. His legs instantly felt better once he sat on the bed, taking his weight off them. The covers smelled of wet dog, but they were soft. That was enough for John. In a situation like this you couldn't demand much. Before he went to sleep he released the Pip-Boy from his arm, and put in on the table next to the bed. Before the voices down in the bar died out for the night, if they ever did, he drifted away into a better world.

When he opened his eyes, he was struck with a burning light. The sun shone through the holes in the ceiling, lighting up the room. Another hot day it seemed. Was the first thing that went through John's head. He turned his head to the side and gazed at his Pip-Boy. The clock said 08:10 AM. He had slept through the whole night, even though his legs ached like someone had chewed on them. For a while he actually felt good, he felt relaxed. But then he remembered he had important business today, find his father. So he swung his legs over the side of the bed and gently put weight on them. He wasn't hurt or anything, he just wasn't used to walking around so much. It didn't matter how many hours you spent on a treadmill, it's completely different from walking on a rough surface. And in some places there was loose sand or dirt, that made it extremely though. But alas, he just had to deal with the aching until he got used to walking in this terrain. After he put on his jumpsuit and attached the Pip-Boy to his arm, he walked downstairs. The saloon looked almost exactly like it had the night before. The same people sat on the same places. And Gob was still cleaning glasses. He parked himself on one of the barstools and leaned on his elbows on the counter. Gob came up to him.

"Morning pal. Rough night?" He asked with his raspy voice.

John rubbed his eyes, trying to shake away all the morning fog.

"Nah, it felt like the best sleep I've had in my whole god-damn life."

The ghoul laughed at his comment.

"It doesn't beat your vault but we have good beds. So what's the plan for today?"

He knew exactly what the plan was. He just had to start somewhere first.

"You're going to help me with that." He told the ghoul.

Gob put down the glass and crossed his arms. He looked interested now.

"And what's that pal? I could get in trouble for even talking to you."

"Don't worry, I just want to ask you something."

Gob seemed to let down his guard.

"Alright, ask away."

"The reason why I came here was because I'm looking for my father, James. Grayish hair, beard, most likely wears a blue jumpsuit like me. Did he pass through here?"

The ghoul hesitated and his face showed that he was scared. Of Moriarty no doubt, right now he was out smoking outside. So Gob was safe.

"Look pal, I really like you. But if I tell you and you go around asking questions, Moriarty will find out. And he will track it back to me and…"

John knew that Gob was scared of Moriarty, but he also saw that the ghoul knew where his father had gone.

"Gob come on! Just give me something, point me in the right direction!"

He didn't want to lose his temper, but Gob knew where his father had gone. And John had to know, whatever means necessary. He gave Gob an angry look.

"Alright! There was a guy in a blue jumpsuit coming through here, he asked about GNR and then he left after buying supplies."

"What's GNR?"

Gob was stunned.

"Wow, you really are fresh out of the vault. GNR stands for Galaxy News Radio. It's the only radio station left standing, it's in DC. Run by a guy named Three Dog."

"DC huh." John said to himself.

"You might want to think twice before going there though, it's a warzone. Supermutants are everywhere, believe me."

But John didn't listen, he just gave Gob a pat on the shoulder and left the saloon. Moriarty was still standing out there leaning against the railing and smoking his cigarette. John had never had the pleasure of talking to him, but from what Gob had told him he was a real asshole. One of those which the world could do better without. John checked his pocket and counted the money to 145 dollars. That money just had to be enough for a better weapon, some ammo, maybe new boots and clothes and of course, water. He headed towards Craterside Supply, just as Simms told him. The weather was slightly cooler today, but not by much. John figured that this must be the middle of summer, it was probably going to last a couple of months. Then the winter came, he didn't even want to know how the winter was. Probably a heck of a lot colder than the winter before the war. John thought.

When he entered the Craterside Supply, he found a woman tinkering with something behind the counter, and a heavily armed guard eyeing him suspiciously. John cleared his throat to get the woman's attention. She quickly looked up and put down her tools.

"Oh hey! Sorry about that, I'm just working on something." She said.

She was more than a bit strange, it showed in the way she talked. But she was harmless enough.

"Don't worry." John reassured her.

"Good. Wait… You're that stranger from the vault! I haven't seen one of you in years!"

"Wow, that doesn't elude anyone. Must be the huge letters on the back saying 101." He jested.

"Yeah difficult to stay incognito like that." The woman countered.

"So what do you need?" She said again.

John looked around on the wall behind the counter. And his eyes caught a pair of beige cargo pants, and a pair of military boots. They would be perfect. John thought.

"How much for the pants and boots?"

The woman turned around and saw the clothes that John had his eyes on. She thought for a moment.

"Just for you, 40 dollars, or 15 caps. Whatever you prefer, I take both." She said with a smile on her face.

John nodded and kept looking, but didn't find any weapon on the wall behind her.

"Do you have a rifle of some kind? And ammo? Also some water."

The woman disappeared under the counter for a couple of seconds. Then a hand put two filled water bottles on the counter, then three clips of ammo. She finally stood up with a rifle in her arms. Everything lay on the counter in a mess. John recognized the rifle, it was an old Remington 700, and judging from the ammo clips it used .30-06 ammo. It didn't have a scope but was in pretty good condition. He held it in his hands. The bolt slid flawlessly, and the sights were perfectly aligned.

"How much for all this?" He asked, putting down the rifle.

The woman did some calculations in her head.

"Normally I'd charge 150 dollars just for the rifle with one clip. But I can see you're fresh out of the vault. You'll get everything for 150 bucks, just for you."

John threw a smile at her and took the cash from his pocked.

"145? That's all I got. How about my jumpsuit? And this leather jacket?" He said and pulled the jacket out of his satchel.

The woman took a close look on it.

"That's fine. 145 will do. If you promise not to get yourself killed!" She said and looked John in the eyes.

He handed over the money.

"I promise. Can I change back there?" He said and pointed towards the back room.

He wasn't shy or anything. But he figured this woman might be.

"Yes of course!"

He changed into the cargo pants and boots. The boots fit perfectly and felt much better than the vault boots. These had a good sole so he didn't have to worry about slipping and breaking something. The pants were also a perfect fit, although if they weren't, he wasn't going to take them back to the woman and ask for now ones. Not everything could be perfect out in the wastes.

"This feels so much better than the jumpsuit." John said and handed over it along with the matching boots, as well as Butch's jacket.

He loaded the rifle with a clip, it contained four rounds, and he put the remaining two clips in the right side pocket of his cargos. The bottles of water went in his satchel.

"Well I have to go. Bye." He said and headed towards the door.

But was stopped by the guard. John didn't want any trouble, besides he didn't do anything wrong.

"You're headed out? Where?" The guard asked.

John was relieved, he thought the guard wanted trouble.

"DC, I have to find GNR."

"Look kid, take my advice. DC is a hellhole, and GNR is even worse. To get there you have to head through the old subway. And that's a very dangerous place. Don't go there unless you're prepared."

"I'll be fine. I have to find my father there. And it doesn't matter if I have to go to hell and back, I'm going." John said, maybe he was more stupid than brave at the time.

"Hey kid. I'm just trying to warn you that's all. Trust me, I'm no greenhorn."

"As I said, I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you." The guard said.

John was ready. He headed out to the wasteland, towards DC, and hell.

The sun was scorching his back as he headed down the hill towards Springvale, according to the Pip-Boy he would then turn right when he reached the road. When he did, he did what the Pip-Boy told him to do.

His hand was ready to reach for his rifle should anything appear. The .30-06 bullet would rip through all flesh in about 860m/s, but the magazine held only four rounds which made the pistol better for close encounters. But that was just common knowledge, and John had spent most of his teen years reading gun books. And that gave him priceless knowledge.

The road John travelled on made him wary, he thought that somebody would jump out from behind a rock and attack him. Even though it was impossible to ambush him there, the road was far too straight and flat.

Small rocks and gravel made crunching sounds under his new boots, which made it easy to hear him coming.

He walked for about two or three hours, passing old houses. One of the houses had been intact. That quickly caught his attention. Perhaps he could find some supplies inside. But he hesitated at the quaint wooden gate, which had probably been white one day. And maybe a hedge followed the fence around the property. Perfect green grass grew outside where children played. But now most of the paint was gone, and the fence only reached on one side. The grass was dry hard dirt and the children were long gone. He drew his pistol and slowly opened the door to the house. He was surprised at what he found. Everything was untouched, the furniture were clean and stood in their right place. Like the house had been frozen in time. The wallpapers were in almost perfect condition, though time had dried the glue that held them on the wall. This made them hang in some corners, but not by much. It didn't look like people had been here, maybe they thought it was just like all the others. Empty and desolate. He held the pistol in both hands while clearing the house's ground floor. Moving forward through the hall he checked every side room he passed. Eventually he entered the living room it seemed, he checked it and then moved on to the kitchen. Nothing, empty. He remembered the stairs in the hallway, so he backtracked and slowly ascended each step, one at a time. They creaked loud under his feet, as old wood did. If somebody was up there they would hear him coming, and get ready. But of course no one was. So he put away the pistol. And began to check the two bedrooms for supplies, under the bed, nothing. In the closet, nothing he could use. Only casual and formal clothes, which weren't of any use. He checked the middle room upstairs, nothing there either. Well nothing useful anyway. So he left the second floor, proceeding to check the ground floor. He entered the bathroom, which was closest to the stairs. To his great surprise he found a completely intact medical cabinet. He grabbed a Stimpack and a syringe of Med-X. He went back into the kitchen and searched through the cabinets, the family that previously lived here had obviously taken most food with them when they left. But he managed to scavenge a can of beans and a box of salty crackers. Then he found his biggest treasure so far in a drawer, it was a full box of matches. Very handy, now he could start a fire out here, if he dared. Maybe he would get unwanted guests if he did. The refrigerator stayed closed, he didn't dare to open it. Who knows what kind of food had long rotten in there? In the study room he found a pair of pliers and a foldable hunting knife, which he put in his pocket. He figured he was done with the house and continued his journey.

The road looked the same as it had before. The asphalt broken and cracked, the dirt on the side had an occasional shrub and one or two dead threes. It was so quiet he wanted to scream, but that wouldn't have been a very good idea. He kept on walking and eventually the road dropped downhill. He stopped and gazed at the scenery. There was a big building at the bottom of the long hill. And more importantly a bridge which led over to the other side of the Potomac, into the city, that was his objective. But to reach the bridge he first had to make his way down to the big building. He had no idea what it was yet, no signs were visible. John continued down the road, towards the building. The ditches at the side of the road were getting deeper, they could provide enough cover now if something went down.

In that case, John would draw his rifle and dive for the ditch. Then fire from the ditch against the enemy. That was his plan anyway. But he suspected that in the heat of battle the adrenaline would make him forget everything. But no such thing happened, and he made his way safely to the side of the big building.

He stopped just before he rounded the corner, pressing himself to the wall with his rifle in his hands. There were coming voices from the big parking lot outside the building. From what John could hear, it sounded as they were arguing over a pack of cigarettes. He carefully peeked around the corner. There were three of them, one was searching a newly killed corpse and the other two were the ones arguing. The one searching the corpse held an assault rifle, he couldn't make out which kind but that wasn't important right now. The other two were each armed with UZIs, a deadly weapon at short range but at a longer distance they could have problems to keep up with the assault rifle. At least that was what John had read in his books. He toyed with the thought of sneaking past them, but there was no cover whatsoever to the bridge. If it was night he might have made it, but not now. The only option was to attack them, something which he wasn't that keen on doing. But it had to be done. Fuck it. John thought and leaned around the corner. He looked down the Remington, aiming for the raider with the assault rifle. Seconds before they would discover him he pulled the trigger and unleashed the bullet. It hit the raider right in the chest and he was pushed back by his own reflexes, and then dropped to the ground. The other two had just realized what happened when John made a movement with the bolt to load another bullet into the barrel. They fired upon him with UZIs spraying bullets all over the wall and ground beside him. John just managed to squeeze of another shot into one of the raiders gut. He dropped down with a scream. The other one moved towards him, firing the UZI in one hand. John took cover behind the wall and just stayed still, loading another bullet into the barrel. The sounds of gunfire came closer, as did the bullets. The raider was screaming and cursing to him, so John heard exactly where he was. When the raider ran out of ammo in his UZI, there were three clicks, which John heard. That was his chance! He jumped out from his cover and aimed for the raiders head, but what he hadn't anticipated was the raider's backup weapon. He heard a loud bang and felt a stabbing pain in his left forearm. That threw of his aim and made him hit the raider in the shoulder instead. The bullet in the shoulder made the raider drop his revolver. John threw down his rifle and ran towards him, tackling him in the process. The raider squealed out when he took John's entire weight on him. A quick jab to John's chin threw him off balance, and he rolled to the side. The raider got up on his feet, and made a run for his pals UZI. The adrenaline in John's body made him forget about the pain and grab the revolver on the ground. He took aim and fired, the raider's eye exploded spewing blood everywhere. And his body dropped limp down to the ground. It was over.

He was still high on adrenaline so the bullet wound escaped his mind. The revolver dropped to the ground, and John stood up. His mind slowed down and he saw his work. The raider with the assault rifle had had been hit right in the heart and been dead before he even hit the ground. The one with the UZI seemed to still be alive, but not for long. He drew his pistol from his pants and walked up to him. He studied his movements for a while. He squirmed like a worm on the ground yelping and holding his gut. The grey tarmac had been painted red with blood, dark red. He remembered what his father had thought him about the human body. If the blood was dark red the liver had been hit and without direct medical care you would die.

"You know, you're going to die. How do I know that? Because the bullet tore through your liver, and I don't see any hospitals out here, do you?"

He raised the P99 and pointed it for the head.

"Ah well. Survival of the fittest ey?"

Then he fired. Part of the raider's head exploded from the close impact. The blood and brains had scattered across the tarmac around him. John didn't flinch this time at the sight. He had grown accustomed to it, in just one encounter. That's scared him. What was he on the path of becoming?

Then the adrenaline rush subsided and the stabbing pain from his arm snapped him back to reality.

"Ah, shit." He said to himself.

The bullet had just skid the side of his arm, but still leaving a nasty wound. He had to get it patched up before doing anything else. So he used some of the dressing from his pack and put it into contact with the wound, the touch sent pain signals to his brain. And he flinched. To secure the dressing in place he wrapped his arm in bandage and used the tape to secure the end. That should hold until he could see a proper doctor. He thought. He wasn't going to waste the Med-X on a minor wound like this one. He was just going to have to get used to the pain. Because the guns the raiders had used were of poor quality, he didn't pay any attention to them. He remembered the corpse the raider had been standing over. Maybe he had something useful. And he indeed had. The first thing he noticed was a shoulder holster. It was empty, but it would make carrying the pistol so much easier. He put it on and tightened the straps, it felt good to have the P99 in a holster from which he could draw it quickly if he needed to. And the spare magazines were on his right side in two pockets designed especially for magazines. He pocketed the pack of cigarettes too. In the dead man's pocket he found a bundle of cash. He counted it to about 500 dollars.

"Ah, this will make my life easier."

After he drank some water he continued over the bridge and followed the road to the city. His left arm throbbed and felt warm to the touch. The bandage was wrapped tight enough to stop the bleeding, so he would be fine. The wound still hurt though.

The sun was about to go down when his stomach growled. He had been walking for hours and the night was coming fast, he would probably be able to reach the city before nightfall. But then he couldn't make camp, not within the city. If it was as dangerous as everybody told him the last thing he wanted to do was show everybody where he was by making a fire. So he decided to make camp here and continue in the morning. There were plenty of old wood and dead trees lying about, so fuel for the fire wasn't a problem, and the dry grass worked excellent as tinder so the fire was easy to make. Even though it was his first time.

"Not a bad first fire." He said.

The fire consumed the dry wood quickly and had to be fed pretty often. The sun was almost gone, and he felt the cold of the night coming. He had to keep the fire going for as long as he could to keep warm. He looked at his Pip-Boy, it wasn't late, only 6:50 PM but the sun had almost completely set and it was so dark he couldn't see anything outside the light of the fire. Except for the stars, it was the first time he saw them. It was very beautiful, it was like little light bulbs up in the sky.

He had studied space and things like that in the vault but he had never seen the night sky for real. The flames in the fire was also captivating, he admired their dancing. But was soon snapped back by his growling stomach.

The salty crackers weren't salty anymore, the salt had either just disappeared or fallen of and lay on the bottom of the box. John figured it was the second. He had the urge to cook the can of beans over the fire but didn't. A couple of crackers had to be enough to satisfy his hunger. This had been his second day on the outside, and so far he liked it. Except for the crazy murderous raiders, the constant fight to get water and food and all the death of course. But to stay in the vault would have been even worse, but maybe he could have convinced the overseer that he wasn't part of his father's little scheme. He thought for a couple of seconds.

"Nah, fuck the overseer, fuck the vault." Although deep inside he didn't hate the vault.

After finishing off his fifth cracker he fed the fire as much he could, then stretched out on the cold rock bed in his camp under the freeway. It took long before he fell asleep, he wasn't used to sleeping on a cold rock. But he lay still listening to everything the night said, which wasn't much. He thought of his father, and what he would say when he found him. What was he supposed to say? Why did you leave me dad? What are you doing out here? Let's go back to the vault? The question flowed through his mind when he remembered the holotape he had found on Jonas. He had completely forgotten it, without getting up he fumbled in his satchel for the square metal tape. The tape wasn't much bigger than 6 cm wide and had no label on it. He fumbled when he slid it in the Pip-Boy and pressed Play. He heard his father's voice talking on it.

"I really don't know how to tell you this. I hope you'll understand, but I know you might be angry."

"Angry? I'm fucking pissed." John commented on the voice.

"I thought about it for a long time and in the end, I decided it was best for you to not know. So many things could have gone wrong, and there's no telling how the overseer will reach when he finds out. It's best if he can blame everything on me."

"Hah, yeah that worked out well." John commented again.

"Obviously you already know that I'm gone. But there was something I needed to do. You're an adult now, you're ready to be on your own. Maybe someday things will change and we can see each other again. I can't tell you where I left or where I'm going, I don't want you to follow me. God knows life in the vault isn't perfect, but at least you'll be safe. Just knowing that will give me enough to keep me going." Those last words made John smile.

Then he heard Jonas voice on the tape.

"I don't mean to rush you Doc but I'll feel better if we got this over with."

Then his father was on again.

"Okay, go ahead. Goodbye, I love you, son."

The tape ended. Hearing his father's voice again gave him new energy, and the fact that he broke every single rule that he gave him made him laugh. But as he said: You're an adult now, you're ready to be on your own. He put away the tape in his satchel and closed his eyes.


End file.
